3 top tips to make your content pull in the off-peak punters

Even with a heatwave ahead of us this week (can you believe it!), the kids are back at school and I’m afraid to say that our fairly-non-existent Summer’s nearly over. With the final peaks of the year of Halloween and Christmas on their way, people’s attention will start turning to the next big milestones of October Half Term and the festive break. But what about the ‘off-peak’ times in between, when you still want to draw in audiences to visit your attraction but those balmy long Summer days are over?

Here are our 3 top tips to make sure your content is working hard to bring in those off season audiences:

1 - Make your content a mirror to your audience

Think about the audience you’re marketing to and reflect similar people back at them. Who might be visiting your attraction in those off peak times? Is it couples without kids who wouldn’t even think about visiting in those busier times when school’s out for the summer? Is it families with younger children who prefer coming in the quieter weeks when the big kids are back at school? Make sure whatever content you’re targeting them with shows the right kind of people so they can picture themselves at your attraction and understand it’s for them.

2 - Embrace the Great British weather

We all know what to expect when the weather turns in this country, but what an opportunity! More than any other time of year, people need ideas for things to do on those rainy days. Be realistic about what your attraction is like in the autumnal weather, and embrace the beauty and fun of those soggy days. If we’re due a bad weather spell, do you have content that shows people still enjoying their time at your attraction and everything all it has to offer with their welly boots and raincoats on? What stories can you tell your audience about great days out at your attraction in the rain? Visitors are more likely to embrace the weather if you do too.

3 - Make your autumnal offering seem special

Show potential visitors what they can do that’s special on an autumnal day at your attraction that they wouldn’t be able to do on a Summer’s day. Does your café do a fantastic hot chocolate? Are there trees that will turn beautiful oranges and reds? Even if you aren’t putting on any special autumnal events or services (and if you are of course you should be shouting about those too!), make sure your content shows off the best bits of your attraction at this time of year to get yourself in the mix for consideration on an autumnal weekend.

So get ahead of the game and show us what you’ve got

If you’re reading this and thinking, hmm, we need to up our game on autumnal off season content, never fear. There are lots of options - if you’re short on time and budget, just get out there on the next rainy day and take some snaps and video on your phone to show what you have to offer. You need to start somewhere! If you’re really time poor and want to start promoting your off-peak services sooner, there are plenty of stock assets available out there you can use (although bespoke content showing your attraction would always be better, and some stock libraries are better than others - give us a shout if you’d like some advice on that). Or, if you think it’s time to create some high quality content of your own and don’t know where to start - get in touch and let’s have a chat about how we can help.

And to show you the proof in the pudding, here are some shots from one of our favourite autumnal shoots from over the last few years, showing this Haven holiday park in all its rainy day glory!

(Photographer: Katie Rollings)